Side-Stripe Teal Cord Trousers

For my latest sewing project, I used the Fibremood Opal pattern to make some side-stripe teal cord trousers. It’s the second time that I’ve sewn this pattern. The first time around used a lightweight linen blend for Summer wear (see here), but living in the UK means I have a greater need for fabrics suited for transitional weather.

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I bought the wide wale corduroy from Sewmesunshine. It’s lovely and soft with quite a deep pile to the fabric. And the colour, oh the colour…I love it! It’s such a beautiful teal/aqua shade. As soon as I saw it I knew I didn’t want to put a bulky fly zipper in at the front, instead, I wanted a more streamlined shape. So the obvious choice was the Opal trousers. I like the side zip and curved waistband that’s nice and flat.

Having made the pattern up once before, I didn’t need to make any more pattern adjustments so it made a nice change to just get stuck in and start cutting and sewing.

But you know what’s coming next, don’t you? Yup, that’s right…I had to add a fun unique detail 🙂 The lovely wide wales on the corduroy changed colour depending on how they lay and how the light caught them and when folded cross-grain the wales made a cute little bumpy edge. So I decided to add a side stripe using the fabric cut cross-grain.

I always like to think ahead and the possibility that there might be a future need for some side seam adjustment if my weight fluctuates. With this in mind, I set the stripe on the front legs a little way in from the side seams. I carefully pressed the strips of fabric then basted the edges, then basted down both sides of each stripe applying them to the front legs. 4 rows of basting altogether (no way was I going to have wonky stripes!). The final machining process went smoothly and I love the result so much.

Once the stripes were done I carried on sewing up the trousers. I didn’t have an invisible zip so I just went with a regular one and I did a sort of statement button loop to close the waistband. For a final bit of inside detail, I bound the waistband and sides of the zip with some bold coral/orange paisley lining. I think the contrast with the pretty teal aqua shade is lovely.

As I already mentioned, this fabric has a slightly longer pile than some corduroys that I’ve worked with so I had to be mindful of this when I pressed it. I used a needle board pressing tool that Mum gave me a few years ago. It’s like a little bed of short needles and you put the fabric face down on it to press it. Such a nifty little gadget. I did a quick search online and saw a few places that stocked them. Here’s one from MacCulloch and Wallis. But be warned they aren’t cheap. I did come across a used one on eBay so it’s worth searching around.

I love how these trousers turned out. It was one of those projects that I was keen to start the minute I got the fabric because I loved the colour so much. I want to introduce more of this shade into my wardrobe, but finding the perfect shade isn’t that easy as it can’t be too blue or too green…I know, fussy right? 🙂

Thanks for stopping by for a read and I’ll see you soon!